Forgotten Day
by HP Slash Luv
Summary: Prompt by cherry916. Season 2. During their grief over the loss of their dad, and the continuous hunt searching for the demon Dean forgets all about Sam's birthday, and really Sam wants it that way. It isn't until Bobby calls asking to speak to the 'Birthday Boy' that Dean realizes his mistake.


**Title: **Forgotten Day  
**Beta: **No beta, sorry for any mistakes  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters and I'm not making any money from this.  
**Genre/Rating:** K+. Gen  
**Characters and Pairing:** Sam, Dean, Bobby.  
**Warnings: **spoilers for season 2  
**Summary: **Prompt by cherry916 for the birthday challenge at the OhSam livejournal community. Season 2. During their grief over the loss of their dad, and the continuous hunt searching for the demon Dean forgets all about Sam's birthday, and really Sam wants it that way. It isn't until Bobby calls asking to speak to the 'Birthday Boy' that Dean realizes his mistake.  
**Words: **1,781

_~ SPN ~ SPN ~ SPN ~_

Sam opened his eyes and the first thing he saw in the morning light is a collection of empty beer bottles. It seems Dean had drunk himself to sleep the night before, long after Sam was already asleep. It's been a common occurrence since their dad's death.

His eyes went to Dean's bed which was now empty. Not surprising, considering he could hear Dean worshipping the porcelain god, making Sam wince in sympathy.

Sam stretched, thinking about the day ahead. It was his birthday and they were in the middle of working on a job. He was already planning to spend the day in the library researching. Hopefully Dean would let him be.

As if Sam's thought summoned his brother, Dean came stumbling in from the bathroom. "Sammy." He moaned.

Sam smiled, although it was strained. "Want me to go grab some coffee?"

Dean nodded as he tumbled down onto his bed with a groan.

Sam went to the bathroom, washed his hands and face, and found some clean clothes to wear. After he went and got Dean and himself some caffeine, he waited for Dean's cheeky Happy Birthday song. When it didn't come, Sam was relieved. They had enough to worry about. On top of the ultimate hunt of the thing that killed their mom and Jess, Dean wasn't handling their father's death well. Actually that was an understatement. Ever since it happened, it seemed like Dean was always drunk and angry.

Sam waved before leaving to go to the library, ignoring Dean's acknowledging grunt.

Sam decided to leave the car for Dean, seeing as how the library was only a couple blocks away. Sam was thinking as he walked. He was done trying to talk to Dean, as it only made his brother clam up even more, but Sam was worried about his brother. Sam was concerned that Dean was going to drink himself into an early grave. Part of Sam wondered if that was Dean's intention, but Sam knew that Dean may be a lot of things, but suicidal wasn't one of them. Especially before the yellow-eyed demon was dead.

_~ SPN ~ SPN ~ SPN ~_

Dean was still groggy when it came to be lunchtime, but he decided that food was a must. He considered calling Sam to see if he wanted to meet for something, but decided against it. Lately, all Sam wanted to do was _talk_.

He was in the middle of biting into a big, juicy hamburger when his phone blared. Checking the id, he picked up. Around the mouthful of beef, "Yeah Bobby?"

"Where's that idjit you call your brother?"

Dean swallowed. "What did Sammy do?"

"His phone's off, making it impossible to wish him a goddamn happy birthday. Put him on for me, will ya?"

Dean had been about to take another bite when Bobby's words registered, making him drop the burger from slackened hands.

Dean mumbled a goodbye before hanging up. Dean knew he'd be right there with Sam when it came to getting an earful from Bobby, but there were more important things to worry about. Number one was the fact that he had forgotten his little brother's 23rd birthday.

And Sam didn't say one thing about it. Dean frowned. Knowing Sam, the martyr, he was probably relieved. Sam's sole focus had been on Dean as of late. Sam's personal wellbeing didn't even seem to register on Sam's radar.

It was too late for anything big, but Dean had to come up with something for Sam's birthday. And later, whether it was tonight or tomorrow morning, they'd talk about it.

Dean shuddered at the idea. He really hated chick flick moments, but he'd deal this one time.

_~ SPN ~ SPN ~ SPN ~_

After a long day of researching, Sam walked into their motel room. He just hoped Dean wasn't drunk again.

Dean was sitting on his bed, watching the door, so their eyes met as soon as Sam walked in.

"What's going on?" Sam asked at seeing Dean's frown.

"It's six thirty." Dean stated, very matter-of-factly.

Sam nodded, wondering where Dean was going with this.

"Let's go get some dinner."

Sam shrugged, turning around to go back out the door. This was definitely a nice change from Dean's recent attitude as Dean had been skipping dinner lately to go straight to a bar.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked as Sam walked by the impala.

"The diner is just down the street. No need for a car, unless you're getting too old for the walk." Sam smirked.

"Ha Ha. You're a riot Sammy. Let's go somewhere other than a diner for a change of pace."

Sam shrugged, beginning to worry for Dean's sanity. He was acting _really _weird.

It was obvious once Dean began to drive that he already knew where he was going. When they arrived, Sam's eyes were wide. "Sweet Tomatoes, really?"

"Why not?" Dean tried careless.

Sam wasn't fooled and he already had an inkling of what this was about. "You hate 'rabbit food,' as you call it. This place is pretty much _all_ rabbit food." Sam warned.

"I know." Dean sounded defensive. "_You _love rabbit food though."

"Since when do you care about what I love?" Sam asked, just wanting Dean to break already.

"Since it's your birthday, dumbass."

Sam nodded. That had been easier than he thought it would be. "We don't have to go to Sweet Tomatoes. Let's just go to the diner." Sam said, giving Dean an easy out.

"Sorry, no can do." Dean got out of the impala, leaving Sam no choice but to follow.

_~ SPN ~ SPN ~ SPN ~_

Dean still felt hungry after dinner, one of his problems with the crap Sam ate. It never seemed to fill him. He was going to keep his complaints to himself though, at least until tomorrow morning. Sam seemed very satisfied though. That's what mattered for that particular night.

When they were back in the car, Dean paused. He decided he wanted to talk to Sam back at the hotel with no distractions so he reached behind his seat, grabbing the bag. He pushed it into Sam's lap, ignoring the surprised face.

When Sam pulled out the journal, he couldn't hide the confusion.

Dean's cheeks heated a bit, not good when it came to presents. "It's technically a journal, but I was thinking you could use it as a dream journal. I know you still have nightmares occasionally and you refuse to talk about them. This way, you can vent about them, but they'll still say secret."

Sam's smile was soft. "Thanks Dean, this is great."

Dean shrugged, playing it cool before starting Baby and heading back to the motel.

"You know," Sam began before pausing, as if trying to gather his thoughts. "It's not that I don't trust you with my nightmares. It's just easier to try to forget them and not worry you. You know that if I have one and I think it's a vision, I'll tell. I wouldn't keep that a secret, not when someone's life might depend on it."

"I know," Dean nodded. "But sometimes, you should trust someone with the regular nightmares as well."

The rest of the drive to the motel was in silence. As soon as they were in the room, Dean pushed Sam onto the bed.

"I'm going to talk; you're going to listen. Nod if you understand."

Sam looked as if he wanted to argue, but he just nodded silently.

"Do you know how horrible I felt when Bobby called because he couldn't get you on the phone to wish you a happy birthday? And here I was, stuffing my face, totally unaware that I had forgotten something so big. Do you know how I felt?" Sam opened his mouth. "Don't answer that."

Sam's mouth closed with a snap.

"Sam, I deserved to be yelled at. I deserved the ultimate bitchface. Then you went on like it was a normal day. Not even a little bitchface. Why?"

Sam looked uncertain.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You can answer Sammy."

Sam seemed to be thinking about his words carefully. "You have been dealing with so much lately. I know you don't like talking about dad, but you can't deny it's been weighing heavily on your mind. And lately, you seem to resent my very existence. I know dad put a lot on you when he said you'd have to save me or kill me. But I'm not evil yet. I was kind of relieved you forgot my birthday. Right now you should focus on yourself, not your pain in the ass, always in the way, little brother."

"Stop." Dean's said firmly.

Sam did.

"You might be a pain in my ass, who's _way_ too into talking about feelings, but you are not in the way. You've saved my life more times than I can count and I can always depend on you to have my back when it really matters, no matter what. That's not something I should take for granted."

"You don't."

"Yes, I do." Dean disagreed. "You think I'd learn my lesson when you went to Stanford. You may not always be here. You and Bobby are the only family I have left. I shouldn't forget important things like birthdays because who knows how many we may have left to celebrate. Hunters die notoriously young and we should celebrate every year we're still alive, no matter what's going on in our everyday lives. Do you understand?"

"Dean, I'm not upset."

"I did not ask if you were upset; I asked if you understand."

"Yes."

Dean nodded, satisfied. "Next time I forget an important date, punch me. You still need to punch me from Gordon anyways."

"Okay, but tomorrow it's back to business, right? We still have the job to finish. No cop outs, okay?"

Dean put a finger up and hit speed dial 2 before putting his phone on speaker. "Yes, but there is one other thing we've got to take care of first."

Sam frowned, a wrinkle forming between his brows.

"Yeah?" The familiar gruff voice asked when the phone was picked up on the other end.

"Bobby, you have both me and Sammy on speaker. Let it go."

"Okay, you two idjits. Sam, you better always have your phone on, no matter what. And Dean, don't you _dare _hang up on me again. Screw the supernatural. You two are the reasons I'm going to be sent to an early grave. I swear, I have _never_..."

Sam and Dean shared looks as they are told off by their remaining family member, identical looks of horror mixed with resignation adorning their faces as they take the lecture, reminiscing about their shared plight silently.


End file.
